The present invention relates generally to a method and system for illustrating sound and text. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for illustrating sound and text utilizing a book holder adapted to accept a book with pages including illustrations and/or text.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with electronic book reader systems. Substantial interest has long been given by the public to books which include sound illustration related to the text and/or illustration content within the book. Such sound illustrated books range in the industry from children's storybooks to manuals for learning a foreign language. Their popularity stems from the fact that a user can visually follow the text and/or illustration content in the book while listening to the audible representations corresponding to the text and/or illustration content.
Many sound illustrated books include a book and an audiocassette tape. The book, however, only has text and/or illustrations. It is the cassette tape that contains pre-recorded audio representations (e.g., voice and/or sound) which correspond with the text and/or illustrations on the pages of the book. In operation, the reader must follow the rhythm of the cassette. When the reader reaches a point for turning the page, a sound or voice instruction is heard indicating such action. If, however, the reader is not following attentively, the audio cassette will continue delivering audio, representations until stopped manually, or until the cassette reaches its end. As such, the reader may find him/herself on the wrong page.
Another sound illustrated book system includes a book holder with a stylus, wherein the stylus is used to prompt the holder to display audio depending on what the user presses with the stylus. For example, detectors are placed on the back of a book holder so that when a user selects a given image in the book, the holder (which must know what page the user is on) is able to display audio content associated with the particular image or word indicated with the stylus. Such systems typically include a particular target which must be depressed by the stylus in order to alert the system that the page has been turned. This system is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art system which uses a stylus. The system 100 includes a book holder 102 and book 104 which is placed in the holder 102. Stylus 106 is used to depress selected objects 108, 110, 112 which are detected by electronics in the holder 102. To accomplish this, the holder is equipped with sensors so that audio content associated with, for example, square 110 is displayed when square 110 is depressed with a stylus. This requires that the system know what page the book is on. Go button 108 is depressed by the user with the stylus when the page is turned, so that the system knows what page is displayed before the user.
FIG. 2 shows the same system after the page has been turned. Dashed lines represent objects on the previous page, beneath the current page. 110 is the square, not behind the current page, as is triangle 112. On the current page circle 210 and diamond 212 are shown. The previous page's go button 108 is noticeably in a different location than the current page's go button 208. This arrangement allows the user to press go button 208 once the page has been turned, so that audio content associated with circle 210 and diamond 212 will be displayed when the stylus 106 selects those areas.
This system includes some limitations. For example, if a young user forgets to press the go button 208 after turning the page, then the holder will still display audio content associated with the previous page. In that case, when the user selects circle 210 the audio content associated with square 110 is liable to be displayed. Similarly, if the user accidentally selects the wrong position with the stylus on the left hand column where the go buttons 108, 208 are located, the system may mistake what page is currently being viewed. Children, who are among the target consumers for such book reading devices, may be prone to misapply the stylus, causing this system to mistakenly display audio content unassociated with the actual page which the child is viewing.
Other sound illustrated books enjoyed by the public today include pages comprising a pre-recorded sound chip which includes stored data (e.g., voice and sound). A problem with this type of sound illustrated book is that sound chips generally have a limited amount of memory storage capability. In addition, these chips are directly attached to each page. This can add significantly to the overall weight and girth of the page, or require the use of thick, almost cardboard-like, paper stock. U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,855 describes a system similar to this.
FIG. 3 depicts such a system. The pages 302 are thick enough to contain an integrated circuit or chip 304 attached thereto or placed between layers of the pages 302. Such books are more expensive to manufacture than books without individual chips on each page.
Another common problem is limitation to stored content within the system. For example, many book reading systems include cassettes for each book to be read, the cassette being inserted into the system when the book is read. Such systems typically require a new cassette for each book to be read. While the cassettes are not usually difficult to work with, children are less able to manipulate such devices than are adults, and the art would be improved by reducing the need to switch cassettes for each new book.